SVP – Corporate Development — Commercial-Vehicle Platform

The mandate

A recent strategy review exposed a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution within a multinational-owned integrated automotive and components manufacturer. The immediate arena is the commercial-vehicle platform during a plant-footprint reset. For mandate 282, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Corporate Development operating perimeter covers approximately SEK 10,750 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, with activity spanning several commercial-vehicle platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Corporate Development Automotive remit carries direct influence over roughly 2,150 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a SVP – Corporate Development who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the commercial-vehicle platform. The SVP – Corporate Development Automotive seat must resolve a plant-footprint reset, while preserving the underlying strengths of the commercial-vehicle platform. For mandate 282, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Corporate Development’s first year on the commercial-vehicle platform is expected to end with proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation. In mandate 282, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created SVP – Corporate Development — Commercial-Vehicle Platform seat, established because a plant-footprint reset now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the commercial-vehicle platform, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Corporate Development value-creation thesis for the commercial-vehicle platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately SEK 10,750 million in regional revenue and programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Corporate Development Automotive organisation of about 2,150 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the commercial-vehicle platform economics and execution constraints created by a plant-footprint reset, with SVP – Corporate Development-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Corporate Development operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the commercial-vehicle platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 282.
• Build the SVP – Corporate Development’s three-year succession and capability plan for the commercial-vehicle platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Automotive organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the commercial-vehicle platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Corporate Development portfolio and organisation choices for the commercial-vehicle platform, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable commercial-vehicle platform trend against proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the SVP – Corporate Development’s agreed first-year commercial-vehicle platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A SVP – Corporate Development forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the commercial-vehicle platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the SVP – Corporate Development mandate’s highest-priority commercial-vehicle platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical commercial-vehicle platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the SVP – Corporate Development’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Corporate Development-owned improvement in the commercial-vehicle platform operating constraint behind a plant-footprint reset, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 282: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive in a multinational-owned Automotive or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the commercial-vehicle platform, your SVP – Corporate Development track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this SVP – Corporate Development brief.

As a SVP – Corporate Development candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Automotive or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of SEK 6,250 million and led an organisation of at least 1,500 people.

For mandate 282, the board wants two transitions: a difficult commercial-vehicle platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a plant-footprint reset. As the prospective SVP – Corporate Development for this commercial-vehicle platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 282 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Corporate Development must be based in Gothenburg; international relocation is supported, but this Automotive role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Automotive governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Corporate Development ownership of at least SEK 6,250 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,500 employees in a comparable commercial-vehicle platform context.
• One completed Automotive or adjacent-sector example of a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from automotive, industrial manufacturing, mobility, components or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks SVP – Corporate Development-level commercial-vehicle platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Gothenburg location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 282.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Corporate Development package is SEK 2.8–3.8 million base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final commercial-vehicle platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 282 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Corporate Development appointment in Gothenburg, centred on the commercial-vehicle platform, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 282.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 282. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 282.